An organization based in Minneapolis is raising breast cancer awareness with “Indigenous Pink Day” …

And, comedian Rob Fairbanks talks about the power of humor…

Here is Leah Lemm with these stories:

STORY #1 AMERICAN INDIAN CANCER FOUNDATION PROMOTES BREAST CANCER AWARENESS WITH INDIGENOUS PINK DAY

REPORTER: October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the American Indian Cancer Foundation is raising awareness through its Indigenous Pink social media campaign. Michelle Adelmann is the organization’s Clinic Systems Coordinator.

Adelmann: AICAF created the campaign back in 2015 with the goal of educating all Indigenous people on the importance of early detection - to remind everyone to keep up to date with their cancer screenings. And then importantly to talk to their family members about their health history, because when breast cancer is caught early, most women survive and they also live long and healthy lives.

REPORTER: The organization partners with more than twenty clinics across the country to provide resources for educational outreach and screenings to women in their communities.

Adelmann: The reason why we do this is because breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in American Indian and Alaskan native women and it's the second leading cause of cancer death among American Indian, Alaska native women with lung cancer being number one still. One in eight women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, which is really high. American Indian and Alaskan native women have a 10 percent higher death rate than non-Hispanic whites.

REPORTER: These statistics are nation-wide. Michelle also noted the importance of early cancer detection for Native women in Minnesota.

ADELMANN: About 30 percent of American Indian women in Minnesota, when they're diagnosed with breast cancer, it’s a late stage… and that's why we really want to emphasize that early screening is so important because if a woman goes in and has a mammogram when they are first able to receive the screening and continue regularly. If the breast cancer is detected early, there's a 98 percent survival rate.

REPORTER: Indigenous Pink Day falls on the third Thursday in October. At the end of October, they will also hold a social media Question and Answer session over Twitter.

Adelmann: On October 30th we'll be hosting a twitter chat where anybody can tweet at us and ask questions about breast health or anything cancer related… the twitter chat is at noon central time.

REPORTER: Again the twitter chat is at noon Central Time on October 30th. Find them on Twitter…. AT A-I-C-A-F DOT O-R-G.

STORY #2 COMEDIAN ROB FAIRBANKS SPREADS LAUGHTER

REPORTER: Next, I caught up with comedian, motivational speaker and host of the Rez Report, Rob Fairbanks.

FAIRBANKS: Comedy's always been like a big part of my life. It's been a love of my life actually because I fell in love with it with when I was younger growing up as a kid.

REPORTER: Rob also talks to groups of people, encouraging them to stick to their dreams, using comedy to show life lessons he’s learned… all while embracing humor as a way to heal and help get through the tough times.

FAIRBANKS: I felt like the Creator gave me this gift and it was my job to, you know, share it. And the way I seen that it was helping my mom and my brothers and sisters. Anytime I seen them down because I didn't like seeing them sad or down, I wanted to make them laugh.

REPORTER: November is National Native American Indian Heritage Month and Rob will be kicking it off with several performances, including Rez Comedy Night at Northern Lights Events Center in Walker, MN on November second.

Rob remarked on how he hopes to bring community together through humor.

FAIRBANKS: My hopes was that these shows would be like community oriented. So we've been making them free for the community because I wanted everybody to feel invited, not just the Native community but the Non-native community as well. I feel like if we can all come together and we can all laugh together, we can get along.

REPORTER: Rob Fairbanks has a facebook page called REZ REPORT, which has nearly one hundred and seventeen thousand followers. There, you can find his social media comedy clips and upcoming shows.

One of his job titles is the Unofficial Leech Lake Weatherman. I’ll leave you here with a short report he gave me when we met on a warm and sunny afternoon.

FAIRBANKS: (As Rez Reporter) Yeah, it’s just sunny out there now. I’m getting just greasy right now. Kinda shiny out. Also my forehead is shiny too. If you see me, you might want to put your shades on. That’s it.

REPORTER: For Minnesota Native News, I’m Leah Lemm.

An organization based in Minneapolis is raising breast cancer awareness with “Indigenous Pink Day” …

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